“Ha! Emotions, having value? I’m not buying that one.”
He cackled to himself at Atsuko’s blank look, but it only lasted a moment, anyway. Long enough for him to zip through another letter. So long, garbage. The digits on the back of his hand shifted again.
Atsuko Samukura “…What’s so special about it? Do you… make them, or is it just the… ‘privilege’ of being allowed to handle one given by you…?”
Ooh, what was the best angle for this one? Choices, choices. As with the envelopes, he just latched onto whatever he bumped into first.
“I mean, the privilege should be enough… But yeah, I make ’em. Well, made.”
“Lost the ol’ family forge in a tsunami couple years back, and of course there’re other places out there, but I’ve never quite gotten these to the same sharpness anywhere else. Couldn’t tell ya what the real difference is.”
“So it’s a pret-ty limited opportunity here. You sure you wanna pass it up, just like that?”
While he didn’t actually stop his envelope-slitting quest as Atsuko spoke, Jack was no longer paying attention to whatever automatic glimpses he got. He couldn’t help scanning the lighter as a possible target, but even if it did turn out to be valuable, he was in no rush to go after it. He didn’t favor arson over any other particular form of entertainment, but he could certainly appreciate the heart of Atsuko’s bit here. The malice, the drama, the edge.
“Well said. Don’t leave me outta the party, yeah?”
